January 15th marked the opening for commercial harvest of striped bass in N.C. Following this opening, hundreds, if not thousands, of dead striped bass, red drum, and other fish were seen and photographed floating in NC waters. These dead fished were caught by commercial trawl boats and dumped over the side. This type of fishery requires “culling” or selecting the largest caught fish and discarding the rest, dead or alive.

"This is what happens when you use a non-selective gear that kills virtually every fish it encounters," said Stephen Ammons, CCA NC Executive Director. "It's as predictable as clock work, yet the MFC does not see fit to do anything about it."

CCA NC is appalled at the continued use of destructive fishing gear practices in N.C. and the effects it renders to our coastal fisheries. CCA NC strongly urges the MFC to review this fishery and adopt rules that benefit the resource, not the commercial fishing industry.

CCA fought long and hard to make sure these fish had a refuge they could swim to when pressured by these industrial trawlers and gill nets - possession of striped bass is illegal in the ocean beyond 3 miles. Just think what would be happening if these vessels had free reign to fish wherever they wanted.

CCA urges its members to contact the MFC members, as well as Director Louis Daniels to let them know we will not continue to sit back and watch our natural resources continue to be decimated by destructive fishing gear. You can email each one directly or use Votervoice to contact all at once with the form letter attached to this email. Your individual letters can be more influential than our prepared written response.